SADIM
Indigenous People
While researching Indigenous people I discovered a deeper connection to living and working together as communities while still keeping that deep spiritual connection and holistic balance to the earth, it fills a holistic need with in us all.
So I started to research different methods of using the way Indigenous people live as a community as a template to base a modern day community on. The Indigenous peoples have so much knowledge to teach us.
The text below are quotes from research I did into Indigenous people, I included this text directly on to the page as it was an important part of my research. It demonstrates the Indigenous people of the land had a deep connection with nature and the land they lived on. They worked closely with earth cycles, observed and interacted with changes within nature. We have lost that connection and I am looking at ways to bring it into a course of permaculture sessions.
The indigenous people of the world possess an immense knowledge of their environments, based on centuries of living close to nature. Living in and from
the richness and variety of complex ecosystems, they have an understanding of the properties of plants and animals, the functioning of ecosystems and the
techniques for using and managing them that is particular and often detailed. In rural communities in developing countries, locally occurring species are relied on for many – sometimes all – foods, medicines, fuel, building materials and other products. Equally, people’s knowledge and perceptions of the environment, and their relationships with it, are often important elements of cultural identity.For indigenous people, the land is the source of life – a gift from the creator that nourishes, supports and teaches. Although indigenous peoples vary widely in their customs, culture, and impact on the land, all consider the Earth like a parent and revere it accordingly. ‘Mother Earth’ is the centre of the universe, the core of their culture, the origin of their identity as a people. She connects them with their past (as the home of ancestors), with the present (as provider of their material needs), and with the future (as the legacy they hold in trust for their children and grandchildren). In this way, indigenousness carries with it a sense of belonging to a place.
At the heart of this deep bond is a perception, an awareness, that all of life –mountains, rivers, skies, animals, plants, insects, rocks, people – are inseparably interconnected. Material and spiritual worlds are woven together in one complex web, all living things imbued with a sacred meaning.
This living sense of connectedness that grounds indigenous peoples in the soil has all but disappeared among city dwellers – the cause of much modern
alienation and despair.
The idea that the land can be owned, that it can belong to someone even when left unused, uncared for, or uninhabited, is foreign to indigenous peoples. In the
so-called developed world, land is in the hands of private individuals, corporate investors, or the state and can be sold at the will of the owner. For indigenous peoples land is held collectively for the community (though competition between communities, and with outsiders, for rights of use, has sometimes led to conflict). According to indigenous law, humankind can never be more than a trustee of the land, with a collective responsibility to preserve it.
The predominant Western world view is that nature must be studied, dissected, and mastered and progress measured by the ability to extract secrets and wealth from the Earth. Indigenous people do not consider the land as merely an economic resource. Their ancestral lands are literally the source of life, and their distinct ways of life are developed and defined in relationship to the environment around them. Indigenous people are people of the land. This difference has often led to misunderstandings. Many have assumed that indigenous people have no sense of territory because they do not necessarily physically demarcate their lands. However, indigenous people know the extent of their lands, and they know how the land, water, and other resources need to be shared. They understand only too well that to harm the land is to destroy ourselves, since we are part of the same organism.
Case Study: The Penan and Kedayan of Brunei
The Penan of rural Brunei have great regard for the forest. This is manifested in their perceptions of their forest environment, especially their
prevailing ‘Molong’concept of natural resource conservation. ‘Molong’ gives the Penan a sense of caring and stewardship over their forest resources. This
involves responsible and moderate use of forests, so that they will continue to be sustaining for future generations. Greed has no place among the Penans. In
practice, this means that when they harvest a clump of sago or rattan, they use only the mature stems, and leave the young shoots for harvesting in a few years
time.
Penans also greatly respect and protect the diptercorp trees which produce the seeds that the wild boar eat. They do not pollute the
rivers because they also know that wild boars eat the plants that grow by the river banks. They also let the boar get their share of the sago trees and
protect the acorn-producing trees which the boars also love. The Penans have a great fear of tree-fellers who cut the trees indiscriminately in their jungle
because they are afraid that the disturbance will decrease their food supply. The forest seems to be everything to the Penans. They feel an affinity with it
and are thankful for its supply of staple foods, building materials, medicines and raw materials for their handicraft. The forest is their world and they live
in harmony with it and so guard it tenaciously.
Until the last few decades, the Kedayans, another rural people of Brunei, have survived by carefully utilising forest, land and wildlife for
their livelihood. Through their day-to-day activities of agriculture and hunting, they utilised and extracted forest resources to produce food and
manufacture materials for their consumption and tools for their survival activities, respectively. They have been practising this way of life through
many generations, using a complex and highly adaptive system, such as cultivation of hill and swamp rice. To cultivate their staple food, rice, they
used different agricultural techniques, both shifting and permanent, depending on the different types of padi (such as, tugal, paya, hambur, tanam) they were
growing.
Well into the 20th century, the Kedayans were traditionally shifting agriculturists, felling, burning and planting hill padi in successive hillsides in succeeding years. An example of areas subjected to this method of rice cultivation is the very rural parts of Temburong, such as Kampong Piasaw-Piasaw. Today, a large part of Temburong is still covered with forest – evidence that the Kedayans have not over-exploited or misused their forest environments. In short, it has been their harmonising and systematic methods of using their environments (particularly land and forests) that have enabled them to practise similar economic activities through many generations to produce food and manufacture materials, not only for themselves but also to sell the surplus to non-agricultural people in the country
Natural remedies and medicines
In many parts of the world, indigenous societies classify soils, climate, plant and animal species and recognise their special characteristics. Indigenous people have words for plants and insects that have not yet been identified by the world’s botanists and entomologists. The Hanunoo people of the Philippines, for example, distinguish 1600 plant species in their forest, 400 more than scientists working in the same area. Of the estimated 250,000 to 500,000 plant species in the world, more than 85% are in environments that are the traditional homes of indigenous people. Nearly 75% of 121 plant-derived prescription drugs used worldwide were discovered following leads from indigenous medicine. Globally, indigenous peoples use 3000 different species of plant to control fertility alone. The Kallaywayas, wandering healers of Bolivia, make use of 600 medicinal herbs; traditional healers in Southeast Asia may employ as many as 6500 plants for drugs. Almost all trees and many plants have a place in medicinal lore.
Some scientists now believe that indigenous knowledge may help them to discover important new cures for diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Many
developed countries realise the pot. There are approximately 370 million indigenous peoples occupying 20 per cent of the earth’s territory. It is estimated that they represent as many as 5,000 different indigenous cultures, therefore accounting for most of the world’s cultural diversity, even though they constitute a numerical minority. The areas they inhabit often coincide with areas of high biological diversity, and a strong correlation between areas of high biological diversity and areas of high cultural diversity has been established.
Indigenous peoples have always identified themselves by the importance of the bond with their lands and their distinct cultures. Indigenous peoples share a spiritual,
cultural, social and economic relationship with their traditional lands, and their customary laws, customs and practices reflect both an attachment to land and a responsibility for preserving traditional lands for use by future generations.
A critical issue for indigenous peoples around the world is therefore access to, as well as the protection and preservation of, their lands and territories and the natural
resources pertaining to these lands essential for indigenous medicine. It is locally available, culturally acceptable, and cheaper than imported drugs.
Indigenous women’s untapped potential as stewards of natural resources and biodiversity, as guardians of cultural diversity, and as peace brokers in conflict mitigation.
Boundries
Questions that I asked
Is it possible to maintain a community that works and pulls together as one?
Is it possible to build communities to succsessfuly live in this way?
what is the missing link in our modern day communities that make them fail?
Is it the spiritual connection to the earth that is missing?
is it ego or engaging in the small petty political problems and peoples drama's that destroys communities?
How can we help people move beyond that point and start to take responsibility for them selves and the way they live on this earth?
Does connecting spiritually to the earth help a person start to treat the earth and ultimately them selves with more respect?
Does this help a person develop further and start to view the bigger picture beyond the self?
How can we utilise knowledge from the indigenous peoples in to our modern day communities?
How can I locate local people with this knowledge?
Looking at indigenous communities do they work?
This link out lines every thing I am working towards, the empowerment of the individual to take on responsibility , create holistic balance and ultimately harmony.
Click on link to go to indigenous communities
Resources
What resources do I have to start to build a community that works?
People who have the necessary skills sourced from the network that I have built up
What information do I currently have about working with natural cycles ( ie connecting directly with nature)
Analyse
Who are the indigenous people of England?
Druids
Pagans
What are their beliefs?
how do they connect to the earth and her values?
how can I build a holistic template for a community based on the beliefs of the druids/Pagans/Shamans?
while researching I came across the books The Ringing Cedars series and discovered a suggested way of living in harmony with the earth
Research Bio dynamics and their effect on plants
A reoccurring pattern through out the entire research is the respect that each sector of Indigenous People hold for the earth, how is that attainable?
As part of my spiritual search I have had connections with the rituals carried out to mark the wheel of the year.
Each ritual is marked with the upmost respect for the earth and the rituals that have ben performed for thousands of years.
The rituals cover phases of the moon, changes of season and help to connect us to nature and be aware of her as a living breathing being.
This should be the essence of Permaculture, where it starts, connecting to a living breathing being and building a relationship based on respect, I believe this can be done by marking the seasons and also practicing Bio dynamics.
As a person starts to become empowered and connects deep within them-selves, they start to see beyond the ego and the material world of "things". Connecting to the earth on a deeper level and marking the changes of the seasons helps with this transition.
I am looking at designing and applying mini courses aimed at encouraging the permaculturing of people's back gardens which will involve Biodynamics and DNA seed cultivation, rituals and using the senses.
While researching Indigenous people I discovered a deeper connection to living and working together as communities while still keeping that deep spiritual connection and holistic balance to the earth, it fills a holistic need with in us all.
So I started to research different methods of using the way Indigenous people live as a community as a template to base a modern day community on. The Indigenous peoples have so much knowledge to teach us.
The text below are quotes from research I did into Indigenous people, I included this text directly on to the page as it was an important part of my research. It demonstrates the Indigenous people of the land had a deep connection with nature and the land they lived on. They worked closely with earth cycles, observed and interacted with changes within nature. We have lost that connection and I am looking at ways to bring it into a course of permaculture sessions.
The indigenous people of the world possess an immense knowledge of their environments, based on centuries of living close to nature. Living in and from
the richness and variety of complex ecosystems, they have an understanding of the properties of plants and animals, the functioning of ecosystems and the
techniques for using and managing them that is particular and often detailed. In rural communities in developing countries, locally occurring species are relied on for many – sometimes all – foods, medicines, fuel, building materials and other products. Equally, people’s knowledge and perceptions of the environment, and their relationships with it, are often important elements of cultural identity.For indigenous people, the land is the source of life – a gift from the creator that nourishes, supports and teaches. Although indigenous peoples vary widely in their customs, culture, and impact on the land, all consider the Earth like a parent and revere it accordingly. ‘Mother Earth’ is the centre of the universe, the core of their culture, the origin of their identity as a people. She connects them with their past (as the home of ancestors), with the present (as provider of their material needs), and with the future (as the legacy they hold in trust for their children and grandchildren). In this way, indigenousness carries with it a sense of belonging to a place.
At the heart of this deep bond is a perception, an awareness, that all of life –mountains, rivers, skies, animals, plants, insects, rocks, people – are inseparably interconnected. Material and spiritual worlds are woven together in one complex web, all living things imbued with a sacred meaning.
This living sense of connectedness that grounds indigenous peoples in the soil has all but disappeared among city dwellers – the cause of much modern
alienation and despair.
The idea that the land can be owned, that it can belong to someone even when left unused, uncared for, or uninhabited, is foreign to indigenous peoples. In the
so-called developed world, land is in the hands of private individuals, corporate investors, or the state and can be sold at the will of the owner. For indigenous peoples land is held collectively for the community (though competition between communities, and with outsiders, for rights of use, has sometimes led to conflict). According to indigenous law, humankind can never be more than a trustee of the land, with a collective responsibility to preserve it.
The predominant Western world view is that nature must be studied, dissected, and mastered and progress measured by the ability to extract secrets and wealth from the Earth. Indigenous people do not consider the land as merely an economic resource. Their ancestral lands are literally the source of life, and their distinct ways of life are developed and defined in relationship to the environment around them. Indigenous people are people of the land. This difference has often led to misunderstandings. Many have assumed that indigenous people have no sense of territory because they do not necessarily physically demarcate their lands. However, indigenous people know the extent of their lands, and they know how the land, water, and other resources need to be shared. They understand only too well that to harm the land is to destroy ourselves, since we are part of the same organism.
Case Study: The Penan and Kedayan of Brunei
The Penan of rural Brunei have great regard for the forest. This is manifested in their perceptions of their forest environment, especially their
prevailing ‘Molong’concept of natural resource conservation. ‘Molong’ gives the Penan a sense of caring and stewardship over their forest resources. This
involves responsible and moderate use of forests, so that they will continue to be sustaining for future generations. Greed has no place among the Penans. In
practice, this means that when they harvest a clump of sago or rattan, they use only the mature stems, and leave the young shoots for harvesting in a few years
time.
Penans also greatly respect and protect the diptercorp trees which produce the seeds that the wild boar eat. They do not pollute the
rivers because they also know that wild boars eat the plants that grow by the river banks. They also let the boar get their share of the sago trees and
protect the acorn-producing trees which the boars also love. The Penans have a great fear of tree-fellers who cut the trees indiscriminately in their jungle
because they are afraid that the disturbance will decrease their food supply. The forest seems to be everything to the Penans. They feel an affinity with it
and are thankful for its supply of staple foods, building materials, medicines and raw materials for their handicraft. The forest is their world and they live
in harmony with it and so guard it tenaciously.
Until the last few decades, the Kedayans, another rural people of Brunei, have survived by carefully utilising forest, land and wildlife for
their livelihood. Through their day-to-day activities of agriculture and hunting, they utilised and extracted forest resources to produce food and
manufacture materials for their consumption and tools for their survival activities, respectively. They have been practising this way of life through
many generations, using a complex and highly adaptive system, such as cultivation of hill and swamp rice. To cultivate their staple food, rice, they
used different agricultural techniques, both shifting and permanent, depending on the different types of padi (such as, tugal, paya, hambur, tanam) they were
growing.
Well into the 20th century, the Kedayans were traditionally shifting agriculturists, felling, burning and planting hill padi in successive hillsides in succeeding years. An example of areas subjected to this method of rice cultivation is the very rural parts of Temburong, such as Kampong Piasaw-Piasaw. Today, a large part of Temburong is still covered with forest – evidence that the Kedayans have not over-exploited or misused their forest environments. In short, it has been their harmonising and systematic methods of using their environments (particularly land and forests) that have enabled them to practise similar economic activities through many generations to produce food and manufacture materials, not only for themselves but also to sell the surplus to non-agricultural people in the country
Natural remedies and medicines
In many parts of the world, indigenous societies classify soils, climate, plant and animal species and recognise their special characteristics. Indigenous people have words for plants and insects that have not yet been identified by the world’s botanists and entomologists. The Hanunoo people of the Philippines, for example, distinguish 1600 plant species in their forest, 400 more than scientists working in the same area. Of the estimated 250,000 to 500,000 plant species in the world, more than 85% are in environments that are the traditional homes of indigenous people. Nearly 75% of 121 plant-derived prescription drugs used worldwide were discovered following leads from indigenous medicine. Globally, indigenous peoples use 3000 different species of plant to control fertility alone. The Kallaywayas, wandering healers of Bolivia, make use of 600 medicinal herbs; traditional healers in Southeast Asia may employ as many as 6500 plants for drugs. Almost all trees and many plants have a place in medicinal lore.
Some scientists now believe that indigenous knowledge may help them to discover important new cures for diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Many
developed countries realise the pot. There are approximately 370 million indigenous peoples occupying 20 per cent of the earth’s territory. It is estimated that they represent as many as 5,000 different indigenous cultures, therefore accounting for most of the world’s cultural diversity, even though they constitute a numerical minority. The areas they inhabit often coincide with areas of high biological diversity, and a strong correlation between areas of high biological diversity and areas of high cultural diversity has been established.
Indigenous peoples have always identified themselves by the importance of the bond with their lands and their distinct cultures. Indigenous peoples share a spiritual,
cultural, social and economic relationship with their traditional lands, and their customary laws, customs and practices reflect both an attachment to land and a responsibility for preserving traditional lands for use by future generations.
A critical issue for indigenous peoples around the world is therefore access to, as well as the protection and preservation of, their lands and territories and the natural
resources pertaining to these lands essential for indigenous medicine. It is locally available, culturally acceptable, and cheaper than imported drugs.
Indigenous women’s untapped potential as stewards of natural resources and biodiversity, as guardians of cultural diversity, and as peace brokers in conflict mitigation.
Boundries
Questions that I asked
Is it possible to maintain a community that works and pulls together as one?
Is it possible to build communities to succsessfuly live in this way?
what is the missing link in our modern day communities that make them fail?
Is it the spiritual connection to the earth that is missing?
is it ego or engaging in the small petty political problems and peoples drama's that destroys communities?
How can we help people move beyond that point and start to take responsibility for them selves and the way they live on this earth?
Does connecting spiritually to the earth help a person start to treat the earth and ultimately them selves with more respect?
Does this help a person develop further and start to view the bigger picture beyond the self?
How can we utilise knowledge from the indigenous peoples in to our modern day communities?
How can I locate local people with this knowledge?
Looking at indigenous communities do they work?
This link out lines every thing I am working towards, the empowerment of the individual to take on responsibility , create holistic balance and ultimately harmony.
Click on link to go to indigenous communities
Resources
What resources do I have to start to build a community that works?
People who have the necessary skills sourced from the network that I have built up
What information do I currently have about working with natural cycles ( ie connecting directly with nature)
Analyse
Who are the indigenous people of England?
Druids
Pagans
What are their beliefs?
how do they connect to the earth and her values?
how can I build a holistic template for a community based on the beliefs of the druids/Pagans/Shamans?
while researching I came across the books The Ringing Cedars series and discovered a suggested way of living in harmony with the earth
Research Bio dynamics and their effect on plants
A reoccurring pattern through out the entire research is the respect that each sector of Indigenous People hold for the earth, how is that attainable?
As part of my spiritual search I have had connections with the rituals carried out to mark the wheel of the year.
Each ritual is marked with the upmost respect for the earth and the rituals that have ben performed for thousands of years.
The rituals cover phases of the moon, changes of season and help to connect us to nature and be aware of her as a living breathing being.
This should be the essence of Permaculture, where it starts, connecting to a living breathing being and building a relationship based on respect, I believe this can be done by marking the seasons and also practicing Bio dynamics.
As a person starts to become empowered and connects deep within them-selves, they start to see beyond the ego and the material world of "things". Connecting to the earth on a deeper level and marking the changes of the seasons helps with this transition.
I am looking at designing and applying mini courses aimed at encouraging the permaculturing of people's back gardens which will involve Biodynamics and DNA seed cultivation, rituals and using the senses.